“This weekend.” I grinned. “Crystal invited me, but I was hoping you’d be there, too.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized it had been the wrong thing to say. A scowl captured her lips, and she shoved my hand from her leg. “Pass,” she hissed. “Look. If you have feelings for Crystal, maybe you should be with her instead.”

“Everleigh,” I warned.

“I’m serious. I don’t want to get pulled into some weird love triangle. Especially with her, of all people.”

A groan of frustration got lodged in my throat. My fingers twitched with the urge to touch her again, but knew she’d push me away just like before.

“It’s not like that,” I protested. “We’re just friends.”

She rolled her eyes, glancing away. Like she couldn’t stand the sight of me right now, and that bothered me more than I cared to admit. “So, you guys have never hooked up?” she challenged.

I hesitated but knew that lying at this point was futile. “We have in the past. It’s not like that anymore, though.”

“Friends don’t hook up with each other,” she countered. “Do you hook up with Jameson or Kash?”

I snorted in response. “I’m not a fan of dick.” I smirked.

Swallowing, she nodded. “Just go with Crystal. I’ll go on a different day or something.”

Why couldn’t she understand that Crystal was just my friend? Was she so jealous that the thought of me being friends with a girl while dating her was a deal breaker? Or was it simply because it was someone I’ve had sex with? I didn’t have time to mull that over, because our biology teacher stepped into the room fashionably late. Instead of taking the front of the room as expected, she sank down into the seat behind her desk, ignoring our existence.

Blowing out a breath, I turned to Everleigh again. “Will you just talk to me about this?” I pleaded. “Is there a reason you don’t want to hang out with her?”

She shot me an incredulous look. “Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past several months, you already know the answer. She’s a bully, Ash. She hates me, and that feeling is mutual. Plus, you asked me to be your girlfriend, and when I came into school today, she was all over you. You didn’t even think to put space between you. That’s a red flag to me. Even more so since you’ve hooked up.”

The wheels were churning in my head, making room for the words she just uttered. On one hand, I was relieved that it didn’t have anything to do with her wanting to control me. But on the other, Crystal was one of my first friends here. I didn’t want tojust drop her because I had a new girlfriend who may or may not work out.

I didn’t want to argue about it. I didn’t want to risk losing this so early on when I’d only just asked her to be mine. So, I leaned over after checking to make sure our teacher was busy doing other shit. My breath feathered against the side of her face, forcing a small gasp from her lips.

“I’ll eat your pussy if you go,” I whispered, trying to distract her instead of fighting.

Her gaze snapped to mine, warmth coating her cheeks from the blush that was now rising at my forwardness. “I-I…shit,” she stammered, unable to form words. Sucking in a sharp breath, she worked to calm her racing heart. “What if I’m not ready for that?”

I shrugged, a smile curling at the edges of my mouth. “Then I’ll do anything you want me to.” My hand moved back to her thigh. “I can make you feel good again.” I breathed, slowly working my fingers toward her heat.

As soon as my fingertips breached her crotch, her hand came down on mine. “We’re in class,” she warned in a breathy tone, her eyes now dilated with desire.

I shrugged. “No one will know. Unless you’re loud,” I teased.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, an emotion flickering across her face that I couldn’t quite decipher. Only yesterday she told me she wasn’t ready for me to touch her there. So, I wasn’t confident that she’d let me now. But she did look like she wanted it.

When she didn’t respond, I continued. “Can you be quiet for me, Everleigh?”

Her hand loosened around mine, but I don’t think it was intentional. She could tell me to stop if I did something she wasn’t ready for, and a part of me didn’t want to finger her anyway while being in a room full of people. However, it wouldbe hot as fuck. So instead of reaching for her waistband, I allowed my fingers to graze over her pussy through her clothes.

Her breathing deepened as soon as I made contact, and I used that as motivation. I applied more pressure, making sure she could really feel it before working my thumb up and down across where I knew her clit would be. I’ve only been with three girls, but I’ve had sex enough to know what to do. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with the pleasure I provided, and my dick was straining so hard against my jeans that it ached. Fuck. I wanted her so damn badly.

I wanted to know what it felt like to be inside her. I wanted to hear those sexy whimpers and gasps of pleasure from her.

As if my mere thoughts stimulated something inside of her, she clamped a hand over her mouth as my thumb flicked over that sweet spot between her legs. Her other hand came down on my wrist, but she didn’t try to remove it. She just held it there, allowing me to continue. If anyone looked over here, they’d probably be able to assume what was going on. Her face was flushed, her pupils blown wide, and her breathing was erratic.

After a few more movements with my fingers, she gasped. Her body started convulsing so fucking hard, I wondered if she’d ever had an orgasm before. That thought turned me on even more. Once she slumped, her hands moving to the edge of the table, I removed mine from between her legs. She was breathing hard, embarrassment flashing within her light brown irises.

“That was so hot,” I muttered, squeezing her knee in a reassuring way, to let her know she had nothing to be ashamed of.

She glanced over at me with uncertainty. “I-I’ve never…”